


you've longed to know me

by littletrenchcoatangel



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Holding Hands, Internet, M/M, Surprise Kissing, cute shit, i dont remember how to tag okay leave me alone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-24 06:43:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15624972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littletrenchcoatangel/pseuds/littletrenchcoatangel
Summary: User: 19barnacleboy10, 10:02pm:captain america/steve rogers is the best of all known avengers members and anyone who disagrees can physically fight meOr: Steve and Bucky defend each other online, completely unaware that they're talking to each other.





	you've longed to know me

**Author's Note:**

> OHHHHHHH MY GOD ITS BEEN FOREVER i haven't written proper fic in like a year kill me
> 
> written for the prompt on instagram, "two strangers strike up a conversation on a plane about their favourite superhero. the argument gets heated as they point out the flaws in the other hero's abilities. neither realise that the other stranger is the very superhero that they are defending, and things escalate" BUT i tweaked it bc i just want bucky and steve to be fucking cute together okay 
> 
> original prompt here: https://www.instagram.com/p/BlyJRUXnucA
> 
> title from lang leav's 'sea of strangers' bc im trashy and unoriginal always

**User: startshit4fun, 7:06pm**

The avengers only have one good team member and its NOT tony stark guess who

**User: pinacolada-aunt, 8:17pm**

Thor. WHAT A BABE.

**User: rumblehorse98, 8:32pm**

THOOOOOOOOOOOOR. Or maybe Hulk

**User: 19barnacleboy10, 10:02pm**

captain america/steve rogers is the best of all known avengers members and anyone who disagrees can physically fight me. odds are no one will

**User: partyanimal1989, 10:04pm**

I’m with barnacleboy, Cap is a dream.

**User: rogerthat, 10:17pm**

I’ll wager otherwise.

**User: 19barnacleboy10, 10:19pm**

lets go mate, im ready. which avenger could even top the man out of time????

**User: rogerthat, 10:21pm**

Certainly some of them. Barnes, easily. He came back from the dead and redeemed himself after over a century of torture to become one of the most valued members of the Avengers team that we know today. Captain America might be a hero to some, but Barnes is unequivocally a hero to all.

**User: 19barnacleboy10, 10:21pm**

lol

barnes is great sure but cap single-handedly took down a nazi concentration camp for the guy so u cant say that barnes is better when he needed RESCUING

**User: rogerthat, 10:23pm**

Barnes needed rescuing after surviving torture that even the highest SHIELD officials aren’t even privy to. They don’t know what was done to him in that camp, or what effects it might have had on his body and his psyche. The things they did allowed him to survive a fall that would have killed anyone else. Surviving that, alone, and still managing to remake himself into an upstanding citizen, makes him far superior to the Captain.

**User: 19barnacleboy10, 10:25pm**

so he gets stabbed a couple times with some crazy dude goop and he’s a hero?? he still killed all those people. and even after he was rescued, AGAIN BY CAP, he still hurt people.

**User: rogerthat, 10:25pm**

Captain America has hurt people.

**User: 19barnacleboy10, 10:26pm**

yeah but they were BAD people. bullies. steve has always fought for the right thing, even before he was cap. barnes killed people that were important. people that could have changed the world for the better.

**User: rogerthat, 10:29pm**

Barnes was never in control when he did those things. He wasn’t responsible for any of those deaths, that was all Hydra. I assume you’ve read the SHIELD files? So, you have to know that Barnes was completely incapable of acting of his own free will.

**User: 19barnacleboy10, 10:34pm**

who hasn’t read those stupid files by now???? theyre everywhere. and i don’t get how YOU could read them and still say cap isn’t the best of the lot. look at all the people he saved. all the lives he changed. barnes could never dream to achieve those things.

**User: rogerthat, 10:39pm**

Barnes continues to be an inspiration to a lot of people, for the same reasons. Since he was redeemed he’s worked tirelessly to save people, just to make up for the things he did. Barnes may not have saved lives as The Winter Soldier, but he’s saved and changed thousands since joining the Avengers. He helped Stark design usable prosthetics, so that those who have them can live comfortably and independently. His work with people trying to slow the effects of Dementia and Alzheimer’s has been revolutionary. Barnes has done so much but is constantly vilified for his time under Hydra, and it’s completely unwarranted.

**User: 19barnacleboy10, 10:42pm**

yeah yeah preachy, we all know what hes done, its not like we haven’t seen the guy up on all those posters looking super uncomfortable. but i maintain that steve is just infinitely better. hes the all american hero. the big buff dorito dreamboat. everything barnes has done, steve has done tenfold for the veterans and the military. barnes just doesn’t square up.

 

 

The kitchen tiles are cool on Steve’s bare feet, despite Tony’s constant reassurances that they’re heated constantly to a toasty “thaw-ty” degrees ( _Get it, Rogers? Because you were frozen? It’s funny.)_. His SHIELD-issue pyjama pants are riding up at the ankles again – another growth spurt, it looks like, as if he wasn’t tall enough already – and in the spring air, it doesn’t feel too bad. He stares down at the too-small screen in his hands and rolls his eyes as a notification slides across the screen.

1 NEW MESSAGE

With an exasperated sigh, Steve reaches up to run a hand across his scalp, brushing his shower-damp hair away from his forehead.

“Something that matter, big guy?” a voice calls, and Steve looks up to see Bucky reaching down the length of the island counter towards him, trying to catch a small plum that has escaped from his grasp. He could easily reach it with his flesh-and-bone hand, currently resting on the keyboard of his Stark-Tech laptop, but T’Challa and Shuri both have been hounding him to explore the full range of his new arm’s sensitivities, and he seems to be obeying for now. He hasn’t quite mastered the fine motor skills, so the plum slips away as it rolls off the smooth edge of his metal fingers, and Bucky makes a small noise of frustration.

“Nah,” Steve answers, none-too-subtly using his phone to stop the plum in its tracks as he approaches. “Just tired. I’ve been arguing with some people online.”

Bucky scowls a little, curling two fingers around the fruit beside Steve’s phone, and pulls it back towards himself with a smirk.  “You, tired of a fight? Must be the end of the world.”

Steve laughs, low and content, and pulls a barstool around to sit perpendicular to Bucky, who takes a bite of his plum and goes back to typing.

“Must be,” Steve returns, and opens the message on his phone.

 

 

**User: rogerthat, 10:48pm**

Barnes would absolutely square up. He has, countless times.

**User: 19barnacleboy10, 10:51pm**

name one time

**User: rogerthat, 10:56pm**

Barnes in the war. He did just as much, if not more, to liberate those Hydra facilities. He had a personal mission to spare anyone the same suffering he went through.

**User: 19barnacleboy10, 10:59pm**

under caps orders tho. barnes was a puppet to his image.

**User: rogerthat, 11:02pm**

Barnes has never been a puppet to Cap’s image. Barnes is what made Captain America who he was. Rescuing the other soldiers had always been Barnes’ mission. Cap just made it happen.

**User: 19barnacleboy10, 11:06pm**

exactly dude. if cap hadn’t wanted to do it, it wouldn’t have happened. cap was large and in charge and just happened to respect his squadmate. which is what makes him so damn great. he could have chosen to ignore barnes wishes and go off doing more of those stupid shows for the war bonds and stayed out of the action. he could have lived a cushy life and died a hero who had done nothing to deserve the title. but he made the effort to earn it, and to live it.

**User: rogerthat, 11:08pm**

By that same logic, Barnes is a hero. He could have been honourably discharged after the torture, but he chose to stay. He fought through PTSD and nightmares and anxiety attacks just to save people, who got sent home after suffering from less than he ever had. Barnes gave parts of himself up to save them all.

**User: 19barnacleboy10, 11:14pm**

cap gave up more. he was just a dumb kid from brooklyn before the serum. he gave up everything he was to become the face of america.

**User: rogerthat, 11:16pm**

Barnes gave everything up to become an afterthought to the Captain’s story. I’d say that’s a greater sacrifice.

**User: 19barnacleboy10, 11:19pm**

a greater sacrifice than literally changing ur physiology on the off chance it might make u strong enough to win a war???? i don’t think so buddy

 

 

“Hey, Buck?” Steve asks after a sigh, looking up from his screen. Bucky sees him lock it out of the corner of his eye, turning it face down and pushing it away.

“Yup?” Bucky returns, not looking away from where he’s typing ferociously.

“Do you think it’s unbecoming of a superhero to fight someone from the internet?”

Bucky snorts out a laugh, not looking up from his screen, and shrugs. “Depends how much of a douche the person from the internet is. I know I’d fight some of them.”

“I’m just…” Steve takes a deep breath, and Bucky looks up to watch him stare forlornly at the underside of his phone as he thinks. “Some of the things people say, it’s just bullshit.”

“Language,” Bucky chides, earning the annoyed scowl he was hoping for. “Don’t worry about it, Stevie. You can argue with ‘em til your fingers fall off. Sometimes they just do it to get a rise out of you. And we know how you get when someone challenges you.”

Steve blows a puff of air from his lips, the force of it jostling his fringe. His lips turn up into a small smile, and he shakes his head.

“Yeah,” he breathes. “Okay.”

 

 

**User: rogerthat, 11:25:pm**

Bucky underwent the same changes. Perhaps worse ones. His physiology is undeniably different. He has a metal arm given to him by his captors, for Christ’s sake.

**User: 19barnacleboy10, 11:28pm**

well maybe but cap volunteered. he chose to become a hero. barnes became one purely based on circumstance. and he wouldn’t have become one if steve hadn’t rescued him

**User: rogerthat, 11:31pm**

Does needing rescuing immediately negate one’s heroic capabilities? Because if that’s the case, Steve certainly isn’t a hero. He’s needed rescuing before.

 

 

Bucky scoffs, reading something on his screen.

Steve stares at him, interest piqued, but Bucky just shrugs. “If I help you fight your internet person, will you help me fight mine?”

Steve laughs. “Sure, Buck.”

 

**User: 19barnacleboy10, 11:34pm**

name one time

**User: rogerthat, 11:35pm**

The entire war. Bucky saved Steve almost once a day. New York, he was saved by the rest of the team. In DC, he was saved by Sam. Bucky even saved Steve while he was under Hydra’s control. That has to speak for something.

**User: 19barnacleboy10, 11:37pm**

bucky saved steve in the war? once a day? he was just a sergeant. a man. steve was the captain. like they had each others backs but saving steve? i don’t think so

**User: rogerthat, 11:40pm**

Bucky was one of the greatest snipers of his time, even before he was captured by Hydra. He had Steve’s back, yes. But there’s no way Steve would have ever made it out of the war without him. That, in my eyes, means he was rescued.

**User: 19barnacleboy10, 11:43pm**

???????????????? solid logic there bro

**User: rogerthat, 11:46pm**

What is it, then, that makes Steve so superior? Why is he a better hero?

**User: 19barnacleboy10, 11:47pm**

um everything

the man is literally the peak of human perfection, how could anyone ever measure up

**User: rogerthat, 11:49pm**

So, because of his physical attributes he’s automatically better? What about the Hulk, then? Or Thor? Or, again, Bucky, who is equally as physically advanced.

**User: 19barnacleboy10, 11:52pm**

hulk is an exception. banner describes him as almost an alter ego. a body contained within his own. and thor is from literally another dimension???? the dude is a god. u cant compare them at all

**User: rogerthat, 11:52pm**

You didn’t mention Bucky.

**User: 19barnacleboy10, 11:53pm**

hes not worth mentioning

 

 

Bucky looks up from his laptop, eyes immediately drawn to Steve as he lets out a frustrated grunt and glares at his phone.

“Everything okay?”

Steve’s fingers clench dangerously around the device in his hand, but he doesn’t answer.

 

 

**User: rogerthat, 11:54pm**

I disagree. Bucky has come a long way since the war. You can follow his redemption arc over the course of history. He might not be a typical hero, but he’s certainly an inspirational icon. I’d say he’s more than worth mentioning.

 

 

Steve stares down at his phone, focusing his energy on not smashing it into pieces.

Bucky laughs at something on his own screen, distracting him, and Steve looks up.

“Honestly,” Bucky says. “The future is wild.”

Steve smiles. “Yeah, just a bit. What’s funny?”

Bucky shrugs. “Just people. The internet. I can argue with people I’ve never met before, and probably never will. It’s just wild.”

Steve laughs. “They still giving you trouble?”

“I wouldn’t call it trouble,” Bucky says, typing again. “They just aren’t making sense.”

 

 

**User: 19barnacleboy10, 11:57pm**

yeah okay pal u’ve got a hard on for barnes, we get it.

**User: rogerthat, 12:02am**

Bucky deserves recognition, is the very least of what I’m saying. Like most of the Avengers. The things they’ve overcome are what make them who they are. They deserve to be acknowledged. Cap didn’t overcome much more than a frail body.

**User: 19barnacleboy10, 12:03am**

mate i will literally throw down over this, steve overcame SO MUCH even before he was cap.

**User: rogerthat, 12:05am**

Such as?

**User: 19barnacleboy10, 12:09am**

um so much?? he was bullied in school, he suffered like nine million diseases, both his parents died and he had to fend for himself WHILE SICK, he had like one good friend and was rejected from the army so many times and he still stuck to it. he could barely afford food and a place to live and now he’s living in stark tower.

 

 

“Do you ever think we shouldn’t have been heroes?” Steve asks, looking up from his phone. Bucky laughs at something on his screen, rotating it to show Steve a picture of a dog dressed as a taco when he asks.

Steve laughs, looking expectantly at his friend for an answer.

“You’re the only hero here, Stevie. I’m just following you.”

Steve shakes his head, frowning. “That isn’t true, Buck, and you know it.”

Bucky shrugs, turning his laptop back to face him, and lifts his metal arm in Steve’s direction. “Without this, I’m just a 100-year-old man who needs a shower and a haircut. You’re the All-American Hero.”

Steve laughs, eyes flicking down to his phone. “Not the first time someone’s called me that today.”

“It’s true,” Bucky says. “I mean, look at all the things you’ve done. The people you’ve saved. You’re a hero. Me? Not so much.”

“Buck,” Steve says gently.

“I know, I know,” Bucky waves away Steve’s concern. “I’m not who I was anymore. But I’m no hero. That’s all you, pal.”

**User: rogerthat, 12:14am**

Those are things Barnes suffered as well. He lost his family, too. He lost countless jobs supporting Steve. If Bucky hadn’t been there, Steve would never have made it to that Stark Expo. He never would have met Erskine at all. The whole reason Cap is Cap, is because Bucky saved Steve.

**User: 19barnacleboy10, 12:15am**

bro

are u seriously saying if bucky hadn’t been there steve wouldn’t have found a way to get into the army

**User: rogerthat, 12:16am**

That’s exactly what I’m saying.

**User: 19barnacleboy10, 12:17am**

because im tellin u rn there is nothing on gods green earth that would have stopped that little punk from getting his ass to europe to kick nazi ass

ARE U FOR REAL

cap exists bc of steve rogers, not bucky barnes.

like im sorry man but u cant peg that guys entire existence on barnes. he would have made his own way, with or without barnes. hes a stubborn little shit, always has been

 

 

Bucky makes a small noise of frustration, aggressively hitting the enter button on his keyboard. “The future might be wild,” he says. “But it is definitely a bit much sometimes.”

Steve, not looking up from his screen, laughs. “Amen to that.”

After a pause, Steve looks up, an odd smile on his face. “Remember the Stark Expo?”

Bucky blinks, but nods. “Parts of it, yeah. Howard had that stupid floating car. Still waiting on Tony to rebuild that one.”

“You think if you’d stayed that night, we’d still have made it here? We’d still have made it to the future?”

Bucky glances at his screen, laughing. “Oh, absolutely. There’s no way you wouldn’t have gone back into that recruitment centre. ‘Steve from Ohio’ might not have made it, but ‘Steve from Georgia’ probably had a shot.”

Steve laughs, picking his phone back up and typing something. “I don’t think so,” he says. “If you’d been around, I don’t think you’d have let Erskine anywhere near me. And I can’t stand up to you forever.”

 

**User: rogerthat, 12:21am**

I don’t think so. Bucky would have stopped him. He might be stubborn, but he could never stand up to Bucky for too long. Still can’t, probably.

 

 

Bucky starts to type something, and then pauses, his fingers hovering above the keyboard.

“Steve,” he says, eyes widening as he stares at the screen.

Steve pauses a video of something he was playing on his phone, and looks up, his bright eyes and open expression painfully reminiscent of a puppy dog. “Yeah?”

“You still fighting that guy online?”

Steve nods.

“What are you fighting about?”

Steve looks down, suddenly bashful, and Bucky can’t help but notice the pink flush that creeps its way up his neck.

“Uh…” he starts.

“It’s me, isn’t it?”

“What?”

Bucky chuckles. “You’re arguing that I’m a better superhero than you.”

Steve looks down at his phone, and then back at Bucky. “How did you-?”

Laughing, Bucky turns his laptop around, revealing to Steve a full transcript that mirrors the one currently open on his own phone.

“Because I’m arguing the opposite. With you.”

Steve stares at the words on Bucky’s screen, then down at his phone, and then back to Bucky.

For a moment, the pair don't make a sound. Then, they laugh.

Bucky’s hair falls wild around his shoulders, strands coming loose from his bun with the force of his laughter, and Steve has to clutch at the edge of the counter to stop from rocking himself off the barstool.

“This is ridiculous,” Bucky surmises, through gasping breaths. “Two hours, and I don’t even realise the person I’m arguing with is sitting right next to me. I really am getting old.”

“You and me both, pal,” Steve says, hand held to his forehead as he tries to calm himself down.

“I can’t believe this,” Bucky says.

Steve pauses for a moment, staring at him, and then bursts into laughter again. “My username is _rogerthat_ ,” he laughs. “How did you not know it was me?”

“It’s the internet, Steve. Everyone’s got weird names! There’s a _buckibarnz_ on Instagram, and I know for sure that isn’t me. You could have been anyone!”

Steve laughs again, his whole body shaking. “Okay,” he says. “But… _barnacle boy_?”

Bucky’s lip twitch with the effort of holding his laugh in, though for naught. Moments later, the sound bursts out of him, as if dragged. “It was Sam’s idea,” he says. “Barnes. Barnacles. Apparently, it’s the name of a hero’s sidekick on a kid’s show. It seemed fitting.”

Steve sobers slowly, brushing his hair away from his eyes. “Bucky…” he says quietly.

Bucky sighs, his humour lost in the serious expression on Steve’s face. “Don’t,” he says. “It’s just a joke. I know you don’t think – I know I’m not your sidekick.”

“Of course I don’t think that, Buck. I couldn’t. I mean, I-”

Bucky holds his hand up, stopping Steve in his tracks. Around a small laugh, he says, “I know, Steve. I did read what I was replying to. It’s okay. I don’t… think of myself like that either.”

“Buck,” Steve whispers, his hand reaching out towards Bucky as if of its own free will. “You know no one sees you that way. You’re just as much of a hero as I am. You’re – I mean, you’re the whole reason I’m even here.”

Bucky laughs, his hair falling across his face as he shakes his head. “That’s not true, and you know it.”

“I’m serious,” Steve says. “All those things I said, they’re true. If not for you, I couldn’t have-”

“Steve,” Bucky interrupts. “Am I actually going to have to fight you about this? Because I know I said I would, but I’ve kicked your ass before, and people still haven’t stopped giving me shit for it.”

Steve laughs, taken aback, but nods. “Sorry,” he says. “I just don’t want you to think of yourself like that. Like you’re secondary to me. I don’t want you to think you aren’t worth mentioning.”

“Don’t get sappy on me, old man. We both know you’re the favourite.”

“Yeah,” Steve says. “I’m a ‘big buff dorito dreamboat,’ whatever that means.”

Bucky flushes beautifully, his entire face alight in an instant. “It’s a compliment, I promise.”

“You’re full of those, it seems. I mean,” Steve lifts his phone off the counter, waving it aimlessly between them. “I don’t think you’ve ever said so many nice things about me. At least not _to_ me.”

Bucky’s cheeks brighten, and Steve finds himself unable to make eye contact for a few moments, as Bucky turns his head away. “If I knew I was talking to you, I wouldn’t have said them at all, I assure you.”

“Aw, don’t be shy, Buck.”

“Shut up, Rogers,” Bucky says, and when Steve does, he stands, leaving his laptop on the counter. “It’s late,” he says, when Steve looks up, curious. “I’ve spent two hours inadvertently telling you how great you are, I think it’s time for bed.”

“I mean, I’m up for more if you are.”

Steve laughs as Bucky scowls, dodging easily as he reaches out to cuff him upside the head with his right hand.

“Punk.”

“Jerk.”

Steve stands, too, laughing as he does, and follows Bucky as he walks away down the hall. They don’t say anything, content to just be near each other, flicking off lights as they make their way to their rooms.

As Bucky reaches his bedroom door, Steve makes an aborted sound from the back of his throat, a half-cough. Bucky stops, turning to see Steve looking down, hand rubbing the back of his neck as he waits.

“You okay?”

“Yeah," he says. "I just - did you really mean what you said?” Steve asks, all in a rush, so quickly that Bucky almost can’t make it out.

Surprised, Bucky lets his arms drop to his side.

“About what?”

Steve rolls his eyes, just like Bucky thought he might, and shrugs. “About me, you jerk. I don’t – I mean, were you just defending me, or do you actually mean all that?”

“Of course I meant it, idiot. You’re my best friend.”

“That doesn’t necessarily mean that-”

“Steve,” Bucky says, stepping forward and grabbing his giant idiot friend by the arm. “I meant it. Every word.”

Steve chuckles, finally meeting Bucky’s eyes. “Even the bit about me being a dreamboat?”

Bucky shrugs. “Every word is every word, pal. Especially the bit about you being a dreamboat.”

Steve turns a beautiful shade of crimson, his feet pulling him back half a step before he even realises he’s doing it, and Bucky’s hand slides down to his with the movement.

Bucky looks down at it, surprised, and then back up to Steve’s face. Steve’s cheeks get impossibly redder, his eyes going wide, and he makes a move to pull away. Bucky catches him, though, his fingers tightening quickly around Steve’s in an attempt to keep him close. He moves that half a step closer again, concentrating on the warmth radiating from Steve’s hand clasped in his, and he smiles, small and genuine.

“Buck,” Steve says cautiously, his voice impossibly quiet in the cavern of the hallway. “Are you – I mean. Is this-?”

“Steve,” Bucky echoes, just as quiet. “It’s okay.”

“Is it, though? I don’t-” Steve pauses, his face twisting up in frustration, looking down at their joined hands. “I don’t want you to think that I’m – that I expect you to – I mean, I won’t force you to-”

“Jesus, Rogers,” Bucky laughs. “Do you get this worked up when anyone holds your hand or is it just for me?”

Like Bucky had hoped, Steve relaxes, his shoulders dropping from where they’d crawled up under his ears. Steve’s fingers, still clasped in Bucky’s, loosen a little, only to tighten again a moment later.

“Just you,” Steve says, and he visibly schools himself before meeting Bucky’s eyes again. “I’ve waited a really long time for this.”

Bucky feels his own cheeks flush at the confession, and it's only through sheer stubbornness that he maintains eye contact. Steve stares at him, his eyes flicking every which way as he takes in Bucky’s reaction. Bucky can’t bring himself to say anything, can’t think of any words that might form an adequate response, and in his delay, he sees Steve become unsure.

He slips his hand away, pulling himself back a step to create some distance between them, and breaks eye contact.

“Sorry,” he says, and Bucky feels part of his tattered soul die at the sound of it, watching Steve shrink back into himself. “I didn’t – I’m sorry. You’re not – if you’re not sure, I’ll just-”

That, it seems, is enough to spur Bucky into action. He reaches out again, both hands grasping at one of Steve’s, and pulls them back together, almost chest to chest, holding Steve’s hand up to his face.

“Steve,” he whispers, breath ghosting over those stupid, perfect knuckles. “I called you the peak of human perfection. What about that doesn’t indicate I’m sure?”

“I just don’t want you to think that you have to-”

Bucky rolls his eyes, halfway to a laugh, and loosens his grip around Steve’s hand.

“Damnit, Rogers,” he breathes, smiling, and reaches out with both hands to grasp Steve’s _stupid_ head, and pull him in.

Bucky kisses Steve with everything he’s got, putting all his surety and confidence and _I think you’re a complete idiot_ into every movement of his lips, and for just a moment, Steve does nothing. There’s no reaction, no refusal, no violent superhero throwing into a wall, just Bucky, pouring his soul into a chance.

The moment passes, and the levee breaks.

Steve kisses back like he’s been waiting a century to do just that – and who knows, that might actually be the case – and Bucky finds himself falling ever faster into the heat of his body. Steve’s hands grip at Bucky’s sweater, pulling them together, the force of his enthusiasm dropping them both against Bucky’s still-closed bedroom door.

Bucky laughs against Steve’s lips, brushing a thumb over his cheek as he pulls back enough to look him in the eye.

“At ease, soldier,” he jokes, if only to see the blush creep up his neck again. As he hoped, it does just that, and Steve hangs his head in embarrassment as a laugh follows.

“Sorry,” he says. “I’ve just – waited a long time for that, too.”

“You and me both, pal,” Bucky agrees, sliding a hand down to grab Steve’s again. He smiles, unable to stop himself, and leans his forehead against Steve’s. They stay there, content to just breathe each other in, until a laugh bursts forth from Steve’s lips, catching them both by surprise.

“What?” Bucky asks.

Steve chuckles, reaching up with his free hand to brush some hair out of Bucky’s face. “I think you were right,” he says.

“About what?”

Steve presses a gentle, fleeting kiss to Bucky’s lips, his entire face alight with the force of his smile.

“The future really is wild.”

Bucky’s answering laughter is music to Steve’s ears.

 

 

 

**Epilogue**

 

**User: 19barnacleboy10, 7:57am**

so... agree to disagree?

**User: rogerthat, 8:01am**

on one condition

**User: 19barnacleboy10, 8:02am**

whats that?

**User: rogerthat, 8:02am**

you cook breakfast

**User: 19barnacleboy10, 8:05am**

yes, sir

**Author's Note:**

> yes the buckibarnz instagram is mine, have a stalk, idc
> 
> leave comments and shit so i feel better about abandoning my sons for so long


End file.
